Lavage process and product therefor



Patented Jan. 22, 1929..

UNITED STATES GARLE'ION ELLIS, OF MON'I'CLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

LAVAGE PROCESS AND PRODUCT THEREFOR.

Io Drawing.

This invention relates to a method of degreasing and cleansing the scalp and relates particularly to a method involving the employment of a vehicle of oil-dissolving or dislodging strength, and to products utilizable in such methods. 7

In the practice of the invention inthe preferred form a nearly anhydrous vehicle capable of dissolving both oily and aqueous exudations of the skin ma be em loyed.

By the employment 0 a vehic e possessing these dual properties I am able to secure results in the treatment or cleansing of the scalp which cannot be effectively obtained by means heretofore used.

Such a vehicle I have discovered is procurable from the olefines of cracked petroleum by sulphation and hydrolysis, followed by rectification and concentration to yield an anhydrous, or nearly anhydrous mixture of isopropanol and tertiary butanol. The method of derivation does not form a part of the present invention, which relates to the employment of such a vehicle as a cleansing or lavage agent for the hair and scalp. I regard, however, such derivation as meritorious or various reasons, one bein ago merely chemical rarities are now cheaply and abundantly available from petroleum; another reason is that a product of this derivation may contain traces of bodies such as sulphur compounds which have certain attributes of therapeutic value.

Before discussing my invention in its more specific and detailed aspects, I wish to call attention to the ever present problem of hair cleansing and toex lain why methods in use have not been satis actory.

The most widely prevailing-form of scalp disease producing irritation and dandruff is,

in my opinion, a form of eczema known as seborrhea. Washing the scalp with soap and water tendsto' increase this irritation and weaken the hair follicles. Benzine'or g'asoline are not solvents for aqueous secretions,

- cause a sensation'of burning of the scalp if the latter is rubbed during application and involve an undue fire hazard. Rubbing the dry scalp with 'orris root and the like is inefl'ectual'. Various other substances have secondary eflfects whichaare' not salutary.

I have discovered that concentrated isopropanol, particularly with some tertiary buthat the pre-, ferred components of the ve icle, not long .were immediately successful.

Application filed January 19, 1928. Serial No. 248,016.

tanol, not only is an almost universal solvent for the various oily and aqueous exudates the the skin (scalp but that in constant and frequent use as a dry cleaner for the scalp, undesirable secondary eflects do not arise. Instead, by freeing the scalp of its burden of self-irritating secretions, the vehicle of the present invention exerts curative properties with respect to seborrhea which are very striking and which are very important in the treatment of so obstinate a 'condition of the scalp as seborrhea brings in the course of time.

The employment of this vehicle as a dry cleaner for the scalp was so wide a departure from anything known in the prior art that its use was strongly discouraged due to the un.-- known possibilities of such material.

One manner of using this cleaner was as follows:

Concentrated isopropanol containing a few er cent of tertiary butanol, the mixture bemg of oil-dissolving strength (in this case 98-99 per cent was poured on the scalp daily in lava e proportions to thoroughly drench both air and scalp without using substantially any more than sufiicient for a thorough wetting. The hair was promptly dried with an absorbent medium, e. g, a cloth. The exudations of the scalp thus were largely transferred to the cloth. Dandrufi scale was loosened by the treatment and could be readily brushed out. In one case after using in this way daily for several days, a seborrhea-l condition which was not checked by any other means, completel subsided and the scalp became perfectly c ean and free from scale.

After the expiration of several months daily use of the vehicle in this manner in a llmited way without any signs of unfavorable secondary effects, but on the contrary with com lete freedom from seborrhea and dandru it was tried by others with results which more extensive scale were inau urated, and at the present t1me a considerab e number of ersons are usmg th1s vehicle regularly.

ery favorable reports on these cases havebeen received, with no report of unfavorable secondary effects. Tests for more than two years have shown conclusively that the'vehigle does not cause undesirable secondary efects.

The vehicle has also been examined with reference to the possibility of igniting it by a spark produced by so-called frictional electricity. In dry cold winter weather when movement about a carpeted room creates a charge of electricity in a person, discharging on any conductor in proximity, thin layers of the vehicle have been placed in metal pans which have been grounded. Thereupon a person has moved about the room briskly to obtain a charge which was discharged as a spark through the thin layer of the vehicle. Repeated discharging of the largest sparks which could thus be produced, was attempted without ever being able to ignite the vehicle.

I consider therefore that the vehicle especially when containing a small percentage of Water (say 1 to 3 per cent) not suficient to destroy the oil and grease dissolving powers of the medium is not hazardous to use because of sparks generated as aforesaid. 'I am the more confident of this because sparks frequently discharged from the tips of fingers when they were dripping wet with the vehicle has never resulted in ignition.

The operation of treating the hair should, however, be conducted away from an open flame.

Instead of wetting the hair and immediatel wiping dry, the operation may be modified by applying a considerable excess of the vehicle and allowing the excess to flow off into a receptacle.

The vapors of the vehicle being penetrating, it is desirable in some cases to permit of somewhat longer contact with the scalp. This may be accomplished by wetting the hair and scalp thoroughly with the vehicle and winding a towel about the scalp, kee ing in this position for several minutes until the liquid and vapor has penetrated the pores in a most complete manner,

One great advantage to users who have artificial Waves in the hair is that the scalp ma be fully cleansed without destroying suc Waves. The hair may be cleansed on short notice in the space of a few moments without that complete annihilation of the coifl'ure which results from the more lengthy procedure with soap and water. This is of very great advantage to women who have only a limited time to conclude'a toilette.

Treatment of oily scalp is especially effective as undue oiliness is frequently accompanied by seborrhea. There is also a dry stage of seborrhea when the oil glands cease to function and I have observed that dry scalp due to this cause has been stimulated to normality by frequent use of the vehicle. Thus, instead of being drying as might be expected, it was a surprise to find the vehicle to cause a flow of oil in dry seborrhea.

When circumstances appear to indicate such a procedure, the vehicle may contain a small proportion of mineral or vegetable oil,

glycerine and the like, not suificient in amount to impair the proper operation of said vehicle. Also medicating agents such as resorcin, beta naphthol, quinine, and the like, may be added in some cases.

The vehicle, however, has of itself a tonic efiect and being volatile, leaves the scalp Without a deposit of a powerful chemical substance such as is used in some hair tonics on the market.

I am very dubious about the desirability of keeping the scalp impregnated with the mercury dichloride, certain phenolic bodies and other powerful non-volatile substances found in hair tonics used in some treatments. The scalp absorbs such substances readily and this absorption going on week after week may have a cumulative effect in impairing some vital organ.

Hence it is a source of satisfaction to me to have found a completely volatile material which has the requisite stimulating effect, presumably by substraction (extraction) rather than by addition. The stimulus apparently is very simply secured by relieving the pores of the scalp of their burden of exudations. While I have set forth particularl the low boiling alcohols derived from t e olefines of cracked petroleum, I do not limit myself in the broader aspects of the invention to the illustrative compositions. Nor do I preclude the addition to such compositions of various volatile liquids which may be used in conjunction with the foregoing to carry out the process of cleansing the hair and scalp. The addition of ethyl alcohol, volatile chlorinated bodies such as carbon tetrachloride, tri-chlorethylene, and the like, is not precluded.

Preferably, as indicated, the process involves treating the hair and scalp by applying freel thereto a laving quantity of a nearly anh rous vehicle comprising isopropanol pre erably carrying from 2 per cent to 10 per cent of tertiary butanol and l per cent to 3 per cent of water.

What I claim is 1. The process of treatin hair and scalp which comprises applying t ereto at least a saturating quantity of a nearly anhydrous mixture of isopropanol and a minor proportion of tertiary butanol, said mixture being of oil-dissolving strength, and drying the scalp with an absorbent medium; whereby a substantial portion of the excretions of the scalp are transferred to said medium.

2. In the rocess of treating hair and scalp, the step w ich comprises applying freely thereto a laving quantity of a nearly anhydrous cleansing agent comprising isopro-' panol.

3. In the process of cleansing hair and scalp the step which comprises applying thereto a laving quantity of a vehicle of oildislodging strength comprising isopro anol. tion, and absorbing the vehicleand dissolved 10 4. In the process of cleansin hair an scalp matter on fibrous tissue. the step which comprises app ying thereto a 6. A hair and scalp cleanser comprising a laving quantity of a cleansing agent comcleansing agent containing isopropanol. 5 prising isopropanol. 7. A hair and scalp cleanser comprising a 5. The hair cleansing process which comcleansing agent containing isopropanol and 1 prises wetting the hair freely with a volatile a minor proportion of tertiary butanol. vehicle comprising isopropanol and tertiary butanol, the latter present in minor propor- CARLETON ELLIS. 

